The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has denied reports that Ghana has recorded a case of Ebola and authorities are trying to suppress the information.

According to the GHS, the news making rounds on social media about an Ebola outbreak in the country, is completely “false” and must be discarded.

“We want to state emphatically that the report is false and misleading and that there is no such incident of Ebola in Ghana,” GHS said in a statement.

The health service noted that Ebola is a highly infectious condition such that when there is an outbreak in a community, there is no way the National Health System can keep it secret from the public.

The health system, according to the GHS, is part of the global community and mandated by International Health Regulation to report all such conditions if they occur.

The statement assured the public that since the reported outbreak in DR Congo, the surveillance system has been intensified, including the points of entry, to detect any case, should it occur. “We will plead with the media and the general public to be advocates of good health and allay fear and panic,” the statement added.

The GHS further urged Ghanaians to use their platforms to educate the citizenry about the disease rather than promote fear and panic.

The GHS said the outbreak in DR Congo, is a local outbreak and has not met the conditions for a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, and, therefore, there is no restriction on trade or travel.